God, but THE PRETENDER’S CROWN is a big book. I’ve gone through over 300 pages now (and cut 15 or 20. I’m hoping to discover, when I read my editor’s suggestions on things to cut, that she’s got *different* places to cut from. I don’t know that I can manage to strike the 100 pages that arcaedia/Jenn thinks would be ideal, but if I could get up to 50 or even *pipe dreams* 70, that would be fantastic), and I’ve just reached the enormously climactic scene that sets everything up for the second half of the book.

I am, though, going to have to write more. I need more from a specific character’s point of view, and I’ve just clued in to how to do it, I think. *pauses to take notes* I think they can be short-ish scenes, but I’m going to have to find a lot to chop in order to come up with, say, a net loss of 50 pages in the first 300ish.

I would really like to eat something nice. Ice cream, for example. Not even a lot, necessarily. Just some. But in the last two weeks I’ve lost 4.6 pounds, and there’s kind of no point in making myself start all this over again. *sigh* I also don’t know how long this is going to go on. Last time I went off sweets I declared it Lent, and went without for 40 days. Doing the same again this time would bring me up to my trip to South Carolina, where I intend on having a root beer float and damn the consequences, but aside from that it’s possible, even probable, that it’d be smart to keep on this up to Thanksgiving, at least, and then possibly have a piece of pie and then stay good until Christmas. In theory that’d be enough time that my sweet tooth might’ve given up and not be all that enthusiastic about fudge and other Christmas goodies.

…yeah. Right. :)

Ok. I need to get through another 40 pages today to be halfway through the manuscript. If I get through another 80, I’ll be…I don’t know. Really cool, or something. But I might have to settle for 40.

It's *hugely* easier to have somebody else's eyes on it to give guidance. I've gotten better at editing, but really, for me, I hand the book over to der agent and der editor when I can't see it anymore.

I can't take 100 pages out of the first 250. Well. I could, maybe, but it would completely eliminate the storyline that my editor asked for, so I'm really not that worried about it. :)